NASA renames distant ice world after Nazi-link controversy

[nitpicker]

https://www.dw.com/en/nasa-renames-distant-ice-world-after-nazi-link-controversy/a-51218716

NASA renames distant ice world after Nazi-link controversy

NASA on Tuesday officially named the most distant world ever explored by a spacecraft "Arrokoth" after its initial nickname of "Ultima Thule" drew backlash over its Nazi connotations.

"The name 'Arrokoth' reflects the inspiration of looking to the skies," lead scientist Alan Stern of Southwest Research Institute said in a statement, "and wondering about the stars and worlds beyond our own."

The New Horizons team, operated from Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Lab in Maryland, picked the name for the rock, which had the technical designation 2014 MU69, because of the Powhatan's ties to the Chesapeake Bay region. It got consent to use the name from Powhatan tribal elders and representatives, according to NASA.

Arrokoth, or "sky" in the Native American Powhatan language, is an icy rock located 4 billion miles (6.4 billion kilometers) away from earth. NASA's New Horizon's spacecraft flew past the small icy world on New Year's Day, three and a half years after exploring Pluto.
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[Loki Liesmith]

1. Dumb.

[Stargazer09]

2. Sad

I thought Ultima Thule was a good name for the object. I didn’t realize it supposedly had Nazi connotations, but they wouldn’t have renamed it without a reason.

I like that they paid respects to the local tribe by using a Native American word for the new name. They could have just used another Latin word.

[braddy]

3. Scary ridiculousness, especially for scientists.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. Adding a link

Ultima Thule renamed to avoid Nazi link
Posted by Deborah Byrd in SPACE | November 13, 2019
The distant Kuiper Belt object formerly known as 2014 MU69 – later known as Ultima Thule – has been renamed again. Its new name is Arrokoth.

[The Mouth]

5. This is the kind of shit that makes people mock "P.C."

[Igel]

6. There are those for whom Nazis provide a kind of lodestone.

Many are on the left. If Nazis use a word in a certain way, we must all genuflect and say, "Ah, the word's True Use. Whatever came before is erased, whatever came along is erased, the one True Meaning is as the Nazis have defined it."

You can let the enemy dictate your life and word choice.